


Calculus

by ch_1oe



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Adoption (mentioned), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bisexual Jack Kelly, Boyfriends, Budding Love, Budding relationships, Gay Davey Jacobs, Jack wears glasses, M/M, because I said so, i am bad at tagging, it’s gay, oblivious gays, tbh gen rated but mild sexual innuendo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:54:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23426560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ch_1oe/pseuds/ch_1oe
Summary: Newsies oneshot in which Jack uses “math tutoring” as an excuse to get closer to Davey.
Relationships: Crutchie & Jack Kelly, Davey Jacobs & Jack Kelly, Davey Jacobs/Jack Kelly, David Jacobs & Jack Kelly, David Jacobs/Jack Kelly, Medda Larkin & Jack Kelly
Comments: 4
Kudos: 85





	Calculus

Jack sat in class, confused as ever. His calculus teacher was going on and on, pointing to letters and numbers that he didn’t understand. Although he pretended to take notes, the margins on Jack’s paper were full of drawings; the back of Racetrack’s head, the stack of chairs in the corner of the room, the faces of people passing by the classroom door. Just as he was running out of space on the side of his notebook paper and he’d resolved to actually pay attention, the bell rang. Oops. He didn’t have a clue what Mr. Feldman had been talking about the whole period.

Thank God for Davey.

After school that day, David Jacobs sat at a table in the library and checked his watch. He knew that Jack would be on his way; he always showed up at 4:00 on the dot. It’s the only time he knew Jack to be punctual.   
Davey could hear Jack a mile away. The sound of his heavy footsteps and loud voice floated down the hallway and through the door, and a few seconds later, so did Jack Kelly.

“Hey, Davey! How’s you been?” Jack sat down at the table with Davey, pulling his work from his bag. He offered Davey a handful of candy, which he happily accepted. 

“Jack, you saw me two hours ago,” Davey teased, unwrapping a piece of candy and placing it into his mouth. “Did you forget already?”

“Eh, ya know.. anyway! Help me out on this one, would ya? I tell ya, I ain’t exactly cut out for all this math stuff.” Jack looked at his homework in frustration and glanced over at Davey’s paper. Naturally, it’s halfway done.

“Jack, if you’d just apply yourself, you could figure it out! Let me see your notes, from class.”

“Eh, about that…” Jack slid his notebook over to Davey. He opened it to find a few words written about the page, but they were far outnumbered by dozens of sketches. 

Davey sighed. “How do you expect to pass this class if you don’t even pay attention?”

“I can’t help it! That Feldman is the snoozer of the year.” Jack popped a piece of gum into his mouth and blew a bubble. “You’re a much better teacher.” 

Davey smiled and shook his head. “Alright. Let’s get to it.”

…

That night, Jack lay in bed, thinking. Another day, another study session, another failed attempt at getting Davey to notice him. This one, like many of the others, ended with Jack getting frustrated and persuading Davey to do his work for him. Suddenly, Jack got an idea. Maybe he could impress Davey by showing him that he was capable of doing math. Smart people are into smart people, right? He checked the time: 11:17 PM. He knew he’d be up for hours anyway, so he sat up, opened his textbook, and got to work.

The Jacobs’ house was near the silent at this hour. Sarah was out with friends, Les was asleep at the other side of the room, and his parents were talking at the kitchen table. Davey, on the other hand, was looking at his phone, scrolling through Jack’s Instagram page. He noticed every detail; the scar on his chin, the cap that never seemed to come off, the jaw that could cut steel. He shook his head and closed Instagram. Jack and Davey had been friends for years. He couldn’t jeopardize that by catching feelings for him. Besides, who’s to say Jack was even into him? He was fairly certain that Jack was straight anyway. He sighed heavily and re-opened Instagram, going further back into Jack’s post history. 

“How long are you going to sit there gushing? I’m trying to sleep!”

Davey jumped. “What? Go to bed, it’s late!”

“Hard to when you’re up every night thinking about your girlfriend!” 

That last part made Davey wrinkle his nose. “I don’t have a _girlfriend_ , thank you very much.”

“Oh, right. Fine, your boyfriend! Who is it, then?”

“Nobody! I don’t have a boyfriend either!”

“Then who are you over there crying about?” 

“I am not cryi- hey!” Les had come over and taken Davey’s phone, running with it to his side of the room. “Give that back!”

Les scrolled through Jack’s profile. “You’ve got a crush on Jack Kelly? Gross!”

“How do you know who that is?”

“I’m not deaf! You only talk about him a thousand hours a day! Always showing me pictures and such. You’d have to be an idiot not to catch on.”

Davey blushed. He hadn’t realized just how much he talked about Jack. “Hey! Stop that!” Les was looking through his Notes app now, where he kept his writings and such. He used to keep a physical journal, but he’d stopped after the incident with his parents. 

Les was reading Davey’s poems aloud, much to his horror. “your lips, soft as a pillow; your eyes like sea-foam; your heart, in sync with mine’... ew, David!” 

Davey snatched his phone back from Les. “That’s enough! Quit it!”

Les sang loudly, “David and Ja-ack, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in the baby carriage!” 

“Shh! You’ll disturb Mom and Dad. Besides, you need to go back to bed! I don’t even know why you were up.” 

Les climbed back into bed and turned his back to Davey. “Whatever. Just try to keep it down, would you?”

Davey shook his head and sat back down on his bed. He glanced over at Les, took out his phone, and reopened Instagram.

… 

Jack came into the library at 4:00 on Friday feeling even more confident than usual. He’d been up studying for hours the previous night, and he’d even paid attention in calculus (for the most part). 

“Heya, Dave.”

“Hi, Jack.” Davey sighed. “Let me see your homework…” 

Jack was more excited than Davey had seen him all week “See, that’s the thing! I tried it this time! Look!” He passed his worksheet to Davey, taking a piece of gum from his pocket and starting to chew it.

Davey looked the paper over, impressed. “Nice! You even got one of them right! See, I knew you had it in you.”

Jack smiled wide. “Ya think so? In that case.. do ya think youse could teach me some more? Maybe come over to mine tomorrow?” 

“Sure,” Davey replied. “I’d love to.”

Jack felt his ears tingling with warmth. “Heh. Yeah. So, uh, how’s about you stay over, while we’re at it? So’s we can hang out, yknow?”

“Yeah! Er, yeah. Sounds good. I’ll see you, then.” With that, Davey stood and grabbed his things, hiding his own reddening cheeks.

… 

Jack sat in his bedroom, the Saturday morning sun bathing him with light through his little window. Davey would be on his way in any minute now, he figured. Jack had prepared for the occasion; he’d combed his normally unkempt hair, he’d cleaned his bedroom, and he’d convinced his mom to buy snacks for the two of them to share. He’d even worn his glasses, something that Davey had never seen. That’s something Jack preferred to keep on the down-low. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he checked his phone. He saw 16 messages from Crutchie in his notification center. He chuckled and opened his phone.

-  
c: jack   
c: jack  
c: jack  
c: jack kelly   
c: francis   
c: FRANCIS SULLIVAN  
c: is davey there   
c: are you kissing   
c: ask him out   
c: you better tell me all about this when it’s over  
c: call me later  
c: jaaaaaack  
c: j  
c: a  
c: c  
c: k  
-

Jack shook his head and typed out a message.

-  
j: he ain’t here yet, calm your knickers  
c: im just trying to stay up to date 👀   
j: well stop  
j: oh shit he’s here, I’ll talk to ya later   
-

Jack heard a knock at his door. He looked around, making sure everything was semi-organized. He popped a stick of gum into his mouth, went to the door, and opened it to Davey’s smiling face. 

“Hey!” Davey was holding a pile of books and wearing a backpack with a change of clothes. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah!” Jack stepped out of the way and let Davey into the apartment. 

“You look different.”

“Different how? ‘s that a bad thing?”

“No, no, just.. different. Nicer. For example, your hair isn’t a mess for once!”

Jack playfully punched him in the arm for that one. “Whatever.”

“Plus.. since when do you wear glasses?”

“Oh, some years. Not to school.”

“ _Years?_ Really? And you’ve got the audacity to give Specs a nickname!”

“Ah, quit it!”

Davey chuckled. “Where’s Medda?”

“The theater. They had one of them- ah, what’s it called? Mat’nees.”

“Matinee,” Davey corrected. He placed his books on the table and tossed his bag through Jack’s open bedroom door. “Do you know when she’ll be back?”

“Late. It’s two shows today. She prob’ly won’t be back ‘til around eleven or twelve.”

Davey looked around the apartment. He’d been there dozens of times before, and knew every corner like the back of his hand. It wasn’t a particularly large place, but it was enough space for Jack and his mother. “I can’t believe it..”

“What? Somethin’ wrong?”

“I can’t believe I’ve known you for years and I never knew you wore glasses!”

“I don’t tell folks often. Speaking of, keep this between us, would ya? I don’t want anyone should know.”

Davey gasped, pretending to be shocked. “The famous Jack Kelly, ashamed of something? I didn’t know you had it in you.” 

“I ain’t ashamed of nothin! I just got bad eyes, that’s all. It’s in my genes.”

“How do _you_ know what’s in your genes?”

His last sentence came out meaner than the playful tone he’d intended. Jack clenched his jaw, not saying anything. 

“Sorry. Low blow.”

“It’s fine.”

There weren’t many things Jack was sensitive about, but his family was one of them. He didn’t much like it when other people brought it up, but sometimes he’d give you a bit of backstory if you got him talking long enough. It was common knowledge, of course, that Medda had adopted him when he was younger. Everyone knew Jack was an orphan, but he had to trust you, really trust you, if you wanted to know more. Prying could get him to open up, but it normally got you a sock in the jaw instead. 

Davey was kicking himself inside. Fifteen minutes into this thing and he’d already upset Jack. He decided to change the subject. “So.. math! I’ve got some books and such here. We can start with the basic stuff and then go from there, yeah?” 

Jack nodded in agreement. The boys went into Jack’s bedroom and got to work.

Fifteen minutes later, Jack thought his head was going to explode. He rubbed his temple. “Say, Dave, slow down a bit! I can’t keep up with all these numbers. Jack was hopelessly lost, eyes jumping from Davey’s books to the paper in front of him, filled with scratched out equations and, of course, countless sketches. “Can we do something else? Anything else?”

Davey sighed. “Jack, we’re almost seniors. We’ve got to start thinking about college and stuff.”

“Who said anything ‘bout college?”

“I am! If you want to get into a good college, you have to keep your grades up.”

“Maybe I don’t wanna go to college. Nothin’ for me there. It’s all.. smart people.”

“So?”

“So maybe I ain’t smart, Dave! Not like youse.”

“What do you want, then?”

“Can’t you see it? In my eyes?” Jack wiggled an eyebrow.

Davey was completely oblivious, as usual. “You could study art if you wanted! You’re great at it. Really, you are.”

“Oh.. I guess so. Anyways, I say we take a break. Come back to all this later.”

Davey gave another exasperated sigh. “Fiiiine. We’ll come back.”

Several hours had passed, and the boys didn’t seem to be coming back anytime soon. They’d played games, eaten all the snacks Medda had bought, and watched what seemed to be half of Netflix’s catalogue. It was getting late; in fact, it was nearly midnight. They were watching Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Jack spent the whole time cracking jokes, naturally.

“If I was getting threw into the oven, I would simply bring Sweeney Todd in with me. RIP to Miss Lovett, but I’m different.”

Davey laughed, and Jack watched him for a while. Jack loves everything about Davey; his eyes, his laugh, even his small mannerisms. The way he tapped his foot when he was thinking. The way he pulled on his ear when he was anxious. The way he’d run his fingers through his hair and curl it around his fingers. 

Davey felt similarly about Jack. He noticed small details about him. He could see even minor shifts in his mood. He rested his head on Jack’s shoulder and pulled up the blanket that covered them both. He loved the way Jack smelled, too: paint, wax, and chalk combined with the faint scents of the city. Jack was always walking, always out and about, so he tended to pick up various smells on the way. 

Jack placed a hand on top of Davey’s. His skin was a bit rough, but his hands were surprisingly soft. He had Batman-themed Band-Aids wrapped around three of his fingers. Jack decided to make his move.

“I like you, Dave.”

“So do I. You’re my best friend!”

“No, I mean… I _like_ you. I.. guess I got a crush, you could say. On you.”

Davey’s jaw dropped. “You.. you’re into me?”

“Yeah.”

Davey sat up. “You’re into _guys?”_

“Yeah. You ain’t know that? I know you’s a bit thick, but I don’t peg ya for stupid.”

“No! You never told me that. I sorta figured, back when you were pining after Kath for so long…”

“That I was straight? Nah.”

“Oh.” Davey could feel his face warming. 

“Yeah.” Jack leaned in and kissed Davey’s cheek. 

If Davey wasn’t red before, he sure was now. He gently cupped Jack’s face and kissed him back, eyes closed. Jack’s lips were slightly chapped, but cool against Dave’s. His hand found its way to the back of Davey’s head, fingers running through his hair. As the boys were busy eating each other’s faces, Medda walked in.

Jack was alerted by the familiar jangle of keys and the squeak of the door. He broke away from Davey. “Ma!”

“Uh, Miss- Miss Medda!”

Medda just looked at them, a smirk on her face. “Just use protection, boys.”

They both stammered. 

“What? No, no, we- we were just-“

“Ma, it ain’t like that-”

“It’s just-”

“We was only-”

Medda held up her hands playfully and walked into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. 

Jack and Davey erupted into a fit of giggles.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic ever, so give kudos if you enjoyed and leave feedback and suggestions in the comments!


End file.
